What is triple class refractory?

Triple-class refractory disease -- more a research term than a clinical term, according to Alfred Garfall, MD, of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia -- describes a patient with multiple myeloma who has disease refractory to all three of the major classes of myeloma treatments: ...

What is triple refractory?

Triple-class refractory patients usually have a shorter duration of response. You can expect a duration of response of progression-free survival in patients to last several years—a median of 5 years—when they are initially treated and receive the transplant. This may be many more years with CD38 antibodies.

How do you treat triple-class refractory multiple myeloma?

The current approaches to the treatment of triple-class refractory disease are limited and include conventional chemotherapy, salvage autologous stem cell transplantation, and recycling previous regimens, each of which have generally had short-lived efficacy.

What is triple-class exposed multiple myeloma?

Patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) have a poor prognosis and limited treatment options after exposure to an immunomodulatory drug, proteasome inhibitor (PI), and anti-CD38 antibody (triple-class exposure [TCE]).

What does refractory mean in multiple myeloma?

Multiple myeloma is a cancer that affects a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell, which helps your immune system fight infections. Refractory means your cancer doesn't improve with treatment, or it stops responding to treatment. Sometimes the first treatment you try doesn't work against your cancer.

An analysis of survival outcomes in patients with triple-class refractory myeloma

What is the difference between relapsed and refractory myeloma?

What are relapsed and refractory diseases? Relapsed disease means a cancer has come back. Refractory disease means a cancer has stopped responding to treatment. “Most hematologic cancers, like leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, are initially very sensitive to treatment.

What does refractory mean medically?

(reh-FRAK-tor-ee) In medicine, describes a disease or condition that does not respond to treatment.

What is life expectancy with multiple myeloma?

Multiple myeloma is an uncommon cancer of the blood. The median length of survival after diagnosis with multiple myeloma is 62 months for Stage I, 44 months for Stage II, and 29 months for Stage III. Life expectancy depends on many factors, including the person's age, health, kidney function, and more.

What percentage of multiple myeloma patients relapse?

One 2016 study looked at relapse rates in 511 participants with multiple myeloma following treatment in 2006–2014. Within a 12-month period, 16% of the participants experienced early relapse. However, 84% had a relapse after 1 year or no relapse at the time of the follow-up.

What is the best treatment for relapsed multiple myeloma?

The standard treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma has been either lenalidomide-dexamethasone (RD) or bortezomib-dexamethasone (VD) but it is changing rapidly for 2 reasons.

How is relapsed myeloma treated?

However, resistance to major drug classes used in first-line remains the most critical factor for the choice of treatment at relapse. Continuous lenalidomide-based therapy is used extensively at first-line, and resistance to lenalidomide has become the key factor for the choice of salvage therapy.

Why does multiple myeloma relapse?

Treatment kills most of the myeloma cells in your body, but a few can still survive. Doctors call the small number of cells that stick around after treatment minimal residual disease (MRD). These cells may eventually grow and divide, which leads to a relapse.

What are signs that multiple myeloma has returned?

Can you live 20 years with multiple myeloma?

While multiple myeloma doesn't yet have a cure and can be fatal, patients' life expectancies vary widely, according to Jens Hillengass, MD, Chief of Myeloma at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. “I have seen patients live from several weeks to more than 20 years after being diagnosed,” Dr. Hillengass says.

How do you know when multiple myeloma is in remission?

There are two types of remission: Partial and full. In a partial remission, some tests—such as blood tests, MRI scans, or x-rays—may still show that you have some cancer cells present within your body. However, any tumors from your multiple myeloma will have shrunk and you will have fewer cancer cells present.

Is multiple myeloma curable 2021?

While there is no cure for multiple myeloma, the cancer can be managed successfully in many patients for years.

Is multiple myeloma a death sentence?

Today, a multiple myeloma diagnosis is no longer a death sentence because our community's efforts have helped bring 11 new drugs through FDA-approval.

What is usually the first symptom of multiple myeloma?

Often, multiple myeloma causes no symptoms until it reaches an advanced stage. Sometimes, it might cause vague symptoms that at first seem to be caused by other diseases. Sometimes, multiple myeloma is found early when a routine blood test shows an abnormally high amount of protein in the blood.

What is refractory give an example?

The definition of refractory is stubborn or hard to manage, or heat resistant. An example of someone who is refractory is a person who refuses to listen to the rules. An example of something refractory is a material like silica or alumina that are difficult to melt.

What does refractory mean in cardiology?

The refractoriness of a cardiac tissue can be defined by the response of that tissue to the introduction of premature stimuli. The effective refractory period (ERP) of a cardiac tissue is the longest interval of the input into a part of the conduction system that fails to propagate through that tissue.

What is refractory heart failure?

Refractory heart failure, also known as end stage or advanced heart failure, is a condition in which heart failure symptoms persist despite taking prescribed medications. This includes symptoms while at rest or frequent hospitalization for heart failure symptoms.

What happens when myeloma treatment stops working?

But when treatment stops working, myeloma cells start growing again. It's called a relapse. Relapse is common for people with multiple myeloma. In fact, this cancer is known as a “remitting and relapsing” disease.

What is second line treatment for multiple myeloma?

Second-line therapy may involve: daratumumab, bortezomib and dexamethasone. lenalidomide and dexamethasone. carfilzomib and dexamethasone.

What is double refractory?

The classical definition refers to patients refractory to bortezomib and thalidomide and/or lenalidomide—the first generation proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory agents (IMiDs).

How long does Revlimid work for multiple myeloma?

Results showed that patients receiving Revlimid lived 39 months without their disease worsening, compared with 20 months for the observation arm. This translated into a 54% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death.